Hey guys, I just traded in my 99 Cobra on a 2002 F150 XLT FX4 SuperCrew, 5.4L. (That's a mouthful) I don't know too much about the specifics of the truck which I was hoping you guys could answer.

1.) How much oil does it hold and what weight? I previously ran Mobil-1 in the Cobra. Any reason why I shouldn't run it in the truck? The truck has 45k miles.

2.) What tranny fluid do you guys recommend? I previously ran AMSOIL tranny fluid in the Cobra.

3.) How tough is the tranny in these trucks? I have an automatic.

4.) Any other helpful hints or things I should look out for? I'm not really interested in any performance mods, I did enough of that with the Cobra. I'm looking forward to lower insurance after my tickets fall off.

 

I guess you're like me.... I posted a couple questions with no response. Some posts get lots and lots of replies and others get NONE!! Not sure how that works?

I also just bought a 2002, XLT, 4x4, SuperCrew, 5.4. Mine had 22K and I talked them down from $26,799.00 to $21,300.00 which included a 6 year 75K bumper to bumper warranty. I was very pleased with the deal. I looked for 6 months before I found the right deal.

I'm not sure about the transmission fluid, but my Dad always said, I don't care what brand motor oil you choose... just stick with one for the lifetime of the vehicle. He as well as I are Castro people. He never said Castro was any better than any other brand... just he liked it and that is all that went into his vehicles. I've probably owned 10 different cars/trucks and Castro has never let me down. If you like mobil-1, I would think it would be fine. As far as Ford's transmissions.... they have been known to be all that tough. I've never had one fail....... actually we had a Windstar that had the transmission go out at about 68K. I think it's like anything else... take care of it and it will last.

I understand you don't plan on doing any mods. I would suggest you at least put on either the AirForce or K&N intake kit. This simply allows the motor to breath and run more efficient. I took my K&N of my 98 4.6 and put it on my 02 5.4. You'll notice it right off the bat. I also went with the Flowmaster 50 series exaust. I'm surprised how much more power the 5.4 seems to have over the 4.6.

Good Luck!!

 

Thanks for the reply. WOW. Sounds like you got a REALLY good deal. I'm not even sure what options I have. I bought the truck from a chevy lot so they didn't have the sticker. I plan on sticking to Mobil-1. I'll prolly change it out before it's due, cold startups in the winter sound VERY rough on the engine. My Cobra would start right up with no hesitation and the engine sounded smooth. I know there 2 different engines, but it sounds like a lot of metal on metal contact when it's 32 degrees and below.

How is your gas mileage? I'm not sure how big the tank is so I can't calculate, but I appear to be getting 75 miles per quarter tank.

I will definately drop a K&N filter in their, and maybe do the air raid intake. I doubt I will do the exhaust though. I like being able to hear myself think now.

 

Yeah, I feel I got a great deal. The truck is super clean without a scratch. I'm not sure exactly what the name is, but I have the K&N kit that replaces the entire stock unit. It's the intake pipe with the large exposed airfilter. Some of the other brands have the shinny chome pipe, but the good thing about the K&N is it's plastic and doesn't require any upkeep. I went with the Flowmaster 50 series. I cannot hear the muffler when the windows are up. If I smash it, I can slightly hear the exhaust, but I wanted people to know there was a nice beefy V8 in there. You could go with a Magnaflow, Dynomax or even the Flowmaster 60 series if you wanted better performace without the extra muffler noise. I haven't had long enough to know my mileage. I have a lead foot so I'm not the best person to ask about mileage. I can tell you I think you made a wise choice going with the 5.4. I have a 98 F-150 with the 4.6 and it doesn't have near the power of the 5.4. I'm interested in replacing the 265's with 285's. I want to see if the 5.4 feels as powerful. I am doing one more thing to mine. I'm going with the Hypertech III programmer. It pretty much reprgrams your trucks computer giving it overall better performance. It's probably not 100% true, but documents I've read state this mod will add up to 45 HP. I especially like you can choose 87 or 92 octane while going through the program questions. My 98 had the Superchip and it required 92+ all the time. That got to be very expensive. Maybe people don't reply to my questions cause I talk to much? Anyway, just excited about the new truck. The 2004 are pretty AWESOME, but not for $32,000 plus!! There was one post you should take a look at. It's under SuperCrew and has something to do with a unsatisfied Ford owner. I can't remember the tiltle, but it talked about the sprak plugs working loose and causing $3000.00 worth of damage. It's relatively new so you should find it pretty easy.

Good Luck!!

Rich

 

richgonfishn, heres the thread you mentioned on the spark plugs working loose: https://www.f150online.com/forums/sh...hreadid=141960

 

If I am not mistaken the 5.4 holds about 6 1/2 quarts of oil and the gas tank is 25 gallons. good luck to both of you with your trucks I think you will enjoy them. Feel free to ask questions

 

hey, i saw you guys talking about the K&N airfilters. for someone that is 'awright' with a wrench, is it pretty easy to do it yourself? and i also heard about the muffler. i want the same thing, i want people to know that i got an *** kicker under the hood, which is better for the buck? flowmaster 50 or 60?" actually i should have said, which is louder?

 

Willie, the intake kits are very simple. I did the K&N and it took about 45 minutes from start to finish. If I remember correctly, all you'll need is a straight alot screw driver and a socket set. I personally think it really helps. Once you install it, start the truck and give the gas a few good taps. It almost sounds like your truck is taking a BIG GULP of fresh air. As Far as the Flowmaster exhaust. I believe the 30 series is the loudest. The 40 series is still quite loud. The 50 series to me was the best choice. With the 30-40 you'll hear the droning and humming from inside the cab. There is also a 60 series that is pretty much quite. The 50 series I purchased had the delta flow technology. (not sure exactly what that means, but I listened to the muffler guy with 30 plus years experience) He also thought I should go with the 3" pipe through-out the syetm. I like it!!! I paid right about $300.00 for everything including a custom 3" stainless steel tip.

 

oil is 5w20 prem syn. motorcraft $1.77 at Wally world

 

The motorcraft 5-20 is a blend not a full syn.

 

Has it always been 5w-20? The reason I ask they switched the new stangs/cobras to 5w-20. There was a big discussion on Stangnet over this and the conclusion was drawn that you will get slightly better gas mileage with 5w-20 over 5-w30 due to reduced viscosity. This would overall lower Fords cafe points. I can't imagine the 5.4L have very tight spaces inside the engine that would require a 5w-20 weight oil, but I could be entirely wrong. Anyone care to elaborate? I plan using Mobil 1 and I don't recall seeing 5w-20 with them...

 

When I bought my 01 I asked about this. The story line I go was that Ford screwed up and made the openings for the engine lubrication too small in the 5.4 and this required the lower viscosity oil. It could be a line, I'm no mechanic by any stech of the imagination.

but better safe than sorry.

 

Glad to see you are getting some answers. Hope your enjoying the new ride. I have used the Castrol GTX 10w30 in my last few Fords w/o ANY problems! I also use the Motorcraft filter. I was told that my "trany" uses a synthetic and it will cost me extra to have it serviced (I don't know). I bought my S'crew used w/25M miles last Feb. I now have 53M miles on it and really have enjoyed it! Have fun, but I bet you miss the Cobra!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by richgonfishn
[B]Willie, the intake kits are very simple. ]
hey man thanks! sounds like a beer job to me! i read someplace else on the site that the droning can be minimzed by putting something in the cab? . although, i remember my old POS corolla, first beater, the rear end was going out and it made a terrible droning noise, but it seemed to go away when the radio got louder. so my suggestion to all that have loud pipes, which save lives i might add, the radio volume contol is directly proportional to the rear end of any vehicle!! i think that all car manufacturers do that!

 

6 quarts (with filter change), 5W-20 meeting Ford's API specification is what Ford says you should use. Ask about oil here and you will get 40,000 opinions. Run what you like, and change it as needed.

AMSOIL is good. If you can afford it and it makes you feel good, do it. If not, the synthetic MERCON V seems to be working just fine as well, at a lower price point per quart.

If you have the 4R70W, it seems to be OK. The 4R100W found in the non-supercharged F150's is even better and the 4R100W found in the Lightning is the cat's a$$. Either way, you should plan on a larger external cooler and a shift kit. A cooler and shift kit will extend the tranny's life and a TransGo shift kit will make the daily driving so much better you won't believe it. (That's what I installed and I could not believe how much better my truck feels)

Check your rear window (if it is a slider) to be sure it does not leak. Pull the carpet up on the passenger side and see if the mat below it is wet.

Good luck and enjoy your 'Screw...